Just a Trick of the Light
by Tia Paes
Summary: It was, he assured himself, just a trick of the light. Bard's POV.


Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Kuroshitsuji

Bard's POV. I really feel that there is a significant lack of servant pov fics out there.

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Bard couldn't help but wonder how he hadn't noticed before.

Sometimes he would see things, unbelievable things and just shrug them off as a trick of the light or his eyes being unfocused. Strange things that sent a chill up his spine and made him watch with wide eyes the corners of his room at night.

Sometimes when it would happen, he would catch Finny or Maylene's eyes and they would share a look of understanding, to forget what they had seen. He tried to convince himself that even though his eyes were good enough to see the subtle goose bumps lining his fellow servants skins, they had their occasional flaws. Even if he knew that what he had seen was real, admitting it to himself was almost as terrifying as the actual viewing.

The first time he had seen it, he had been new to the job.

"Why couldn't you have just parked the truck out back?" Groaned Bard as he carried two heavy bags of flour towards the kitchen, "It would have been quicker and I wouldn't be – dammit – spilling flour everywhere!"

Sebastian glanced at him from the corner of his eyes and smirked, "It is imperative that all servants of the Phantomhive family are physically fit. As you have refused to take part in any physical activity, I took it upon myself to ensure your fitness."

Feeling his face flush with anger, Bard dropped the heavy bags of flour, ready to jump into an aggressive stance. As the bags hit the ground, the flour exploded from the flimsily packaged bags, coating the hallway in a blanket of white. Coughing, Bard looked up to see Sebastian wiping his forehead with a white handkerchief, a thin line of skin becoming present as the flour was wiped away.

A heavy sigh penetrated the otherwise shocked silence of the room, "Why must everything turn out so disastrous in his household?"

"Well it never would have happened if you hadn't of called me fat!" Shouted Bard.

Sebastian fixed a steel glare on him, any humour he had previously had having vanished with the cloud of flour. Bard felt his cheeks burn again as shame crept up on him, the full extent of the mess having become apparent.

"I will acquire some cleaning tools, take the remaining flour to the kitchen," said Sebastian as he glared at Bard.

Bard picked up the flour bag, "Sorry about that Seb…. Sebastian?"

The corridor was empty.

Shrugging his shoulders, Bard looked down the corridor curiously, trying to see a retreating back or a door that the enigmatic man could have passed into. As usual, it was barren.

Leaning down to pick up the remaining bag of flour, he stopped as he realized two footprints led through the flour and then simply… disappeared. Squatting next to them, he frowned as he thought. To him, it looked like the man had taken two steps and then simply vanished.

When he had (quite literally) run into Sebastian again, the smirk he had given him had sent chills up his spine.

The second time it had happened, he had been in the kitchen with Finny and Maylene.

Bard may not have been the best cook but he was excellent at producing leftovers, something that was in high supply when their master hardly consumed anything but sweets and teas and was rarely at the house for any meal. When they had arrived at the new job, their uncertain future and traumatic pasts had bonded them together. It wasn't long before they became family to each other and he had come to enjoy the simple meals that they had together, especially after their exhausting days.

"You should have seen this flower, Bard. It was the biggest flower I have ever seen! I was going to pick it but I just felt so bad, so now I'm going to take special care of it and make it the biggest flower in the world!" Bard grinned at Finny, enjoying the rambling of the younger boy and his energetic tales.

The door creaked, almost a warning bell to sound the approach of an ominous being.

"Se-Sebastian!" Squeaked Maylene as a white glove pushed open the door further, allowing the handsome butler to enter. It was always strange to see him so late at night when everyone had tired circles under their eyes and bent backs from the harsh labour. He was, as always, perfect. Eyes unusually sharp for a servant under a child, posture perfect and not one speck on his immaculate suit.

Finny turned his attention to the Butler, "Sebastian, I found the biggest flower today!"

The butler elegantly took off his black coat, laying it on the back of the nearest chair. With his jacket off, Bard could see the mans form better, his incredibly thin body and arms that never ceased to amaze him with their strength and endurance. He had seen the man lift twice what he could and he was quite proud of his strength and muscles.

The white shirt that he wore contrasted harshly with his black hair, giving the man a strangely hollow appearance.

"Seb-Sebastian, would… would you like some f-food?" Squeaked Maylene from the table, her face covered in a large blush and her eyes downcast as she stuttered. It was amazing what the butler managed to turn the usual bubbly girl into with just his presence.

Looking down at the table and the variety of pies, soups, breads and cheeses that adorned it, Sebastian raised an eyebrow, "I ate earlier."

Bard felt his eyes tighten as the blood rushed through his veins. He knew without a doubt in his mind that Sebastian hadn't ate earlier. He had been in the kitchens the entire day and night. Nothing had left or entered that hadn't been either for the master or for a guest. Unless the man had a storeroom in his lodgings, he was not eating.

Standing up from his slouched position at the table, Bard brought a sweet pie to the table, laying it in front of Sebastian's form, "Well you're just in time for desert then."

A strange expression entered the butler's face for just one moment. He couldn't even be sure that anyone else had seen it. It was an expression of absolute revulsion, of disgust and loathing. It was just a flicker upon the mans face but the strongest emotion he had ever seen. The disgust was so strong that, he reasoned, it couldn't possibly just be for the type of pie or the flavours in it either.

It was as if the entire idea of eating food sickened the man.

Within a moment, the expression was gone to be replaced with a look of polite refusal, "I apologize but I must refuse. I am still digesting my earlier meal."

As usual, the butler began to pull out random ingredients and bowls, ready to begin making the masters snacks for the next day.

When he looked back at Finny and Maylene, they had both been staring hungrily at the delicious pie on the table. He frowned as he remembered the look on the butlers face. He had never seen such a look of disgust on someone's face before, especially directed at a pie.

Bard had continued as he usually did that night, the image on the mans face burned into his mind.

The third time it had happened, Bard had destroyed the kitchen.

Despite how potentially serious the situation seemed, it was more commonplace then getting the newspaper or preparing the masters afternoon tea. When it had happened, he had simply lit a cigarette and waited for Sebastian to investigate the problem. There was no use for him to try to clean it up, he would get to it later and in all honesty, destroying the kitchen took a lot of energy out of him.

A sigh broke the silence of room and he could see Sebastian at the door, one gloved hand rubbing his temple. Bard gave the man a cheeky grin as he stubbed out his cigarette.

Pulling out the broom, Bard got to work.

It wasn't long before he literally set something on fire again. However, it was just his luck that the object on fire was, of all things, Sebastian glove.

"God damn, your hands on fire!" Shouted Bard.

Sebastian's eyes darted to the hand he had placed on the bench and quicker then lightening, tore the glove off. Bard had never seen someone actually tear material off to the point where it was shredded. As odd as that was, it wasn't as odd as the sight that was revealed under the white material.

Black nails.

Initially, he had erupted into a coughing fit from trying to conceal the laughter that had ripped itself from his body. The straight as a nail Butler that frowned on anything that wasn't of the best decorum and etiquette actually _painted_ his nails. It wasn't until he had looked harder at the nails that his laughter had stopped and the feeling in the pit of his stomach had returned.

His nails weren't painted black, they were simply black. There was no unnatural shine to them; no sign of white nail underneath, they were simply black.

When he had dared to glance at Sebastian's face, he had seen him calculatingly watching him. It was the same look he had seen men give him when he was staring up the barrel of a gun. The same, should I kill him or should I let him live look that he had never forgotten. There was something vastly different about the butler that separated him from all of the other memories, he was almost enjoying the moment. Enjoying the idea of simply murdering him and doing god knows what to him before that.

It was then that another thing occurred to him. Sebastian's eyes, above the smirk that slowly spread itself across the pale face, were red. Maylene had once tried to describe them as a, 'hazel forest of beauty,' but they weren't hazel. They were _red. _Blood red, the kind that he saw drip from his friends on the battle field and from his enemies.

He suddenly felt as if he was staring into the eyes of a hungry wolf.

"I-I should get the mop," stammered Bard as he rushed out into the hallway. He could feel Sebastian's eyes on his back, still calculating, still wondering.

Despite the fact that the mop was in the kitchen, Bard rushed down the hallway, eager to get out the room.

It was, he assured himself, just a trick of the light.

Nothing else.

Just a trick of the light.

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